Via the Void
by brencon
Summary: Rose follows the Doctor, always missing him by mere seconds, until the gap between dimensions lets her go home... to her Doctor. Rose/10, Ensemble. Very short drabbles. Spoilers for Series 4.
1. Missed Reunion

A news report aired stories of a giant space ship, flying over London city centre; creatures escaping out of human beings, cute as a bug and almost as small as one too, the death of a prominent entrepreneur in the world of fitness and dieting.

Scenes from out-of-this-world that most, today, have become a common site were viewed around the world as the most recent extra terrestrial encounter grew ever larger in it's public talk around the world, drawing many a family to the streets, observing the different planets that spread out above them, whispering in awe and wonder of what else could be out there.

And yet the lone blonde girl seems wary, so very tired and lost. She listened to the red head, acting the part of the common do-good person one expects to find in this day and age. She nods her head in understanding and smiles as the red head runs back towards a not so dark alley. She turns back to the apparent suicide of a business woman, her eyes down turned and filled with sorrow.

She glances to the sky, hoping against hope to see a blue box fly above head, but realises it's too small a hope to risk her heart for. She turns to leave, her blonde hair blowing in the night sky. The echo of her high heels breaks the silence of the crime scene. She knows what's coming and yet she still doesn't understand how works. She bows her head to watch the transition as she walks from her home universe into Pete's world.

Yet as she crosses the Howling, she hears that whisper that has haunted her for almost two years now. The whisper from a voice that she knew all too well, a voice that caused her heart to sing and her breath to catch.

"Rose."

And when she swirls to look back, she is too late. She's crossed the Void and has returned to her new home, her prison.

She hails a taxi, climbs in, directs him to her flat, and pulls her phone from her pocket. Opening the calendar, she delete's that day's entry and enters a new one, for the following day.

She leans her head against the window and staring at the stars as they remain ever constant, wishing she was still flying through them all, living her life in ways she had never dreamed off, and ways that she missed terribly.

She'd finally found her way home... now all she had to do was to find her Doctor.

--

So, a short little thing to start of these sets of drabbles... I figure I'll have three more. Please R/R.


	2. Painful Dreams

His dreams were always the same – her chilling scream as fell towards the Void, his heart breaking as she vanished in the arms of her father (from an alternate world). They had shared one final, terrified, broken look before she left her world. Soon after, the Void collapsed in on its self, right before his eyes, as if it had never existed in the first place; as if Rose Tyler had never existed.

The Doctor had dreamt of nothing since, even with the return of the Rachnoss, and the Master, his mind always returned to that which he lost in the Battle of Canary Wharf. Her cheeky smile, her sense of humanity, how she had promised to be with him forever…. How she loved him without ever getting the chance to actually be with him.

He had met Astrid and Martha, Donna and the Captain once more and felt like he was moving on with his life, when in reality he knew Rose was always there, in the back of his mind, calling to him, whispering her love to him.

Their last conversation was one of the most heartbreaking conversations he had ever experienced. He never got to tell her he loved her, having miscalculated how long the supernova would last.

For him, it had only been a number of hours, whilst he guessed days for her – weeks even, as he called out through the smallest of gaps between the Howling, drawing her to Bad Wolf Bay. His actions burned up a distant sun, but it was worth it, he got to say goodbye to the Defender of the Earth… the love of his life.

And now, he'd found someone to travel with who wasn't looking for a relationship, someone who just wanted to travel to these fantastic, brilliant places and live her life to the fullest with just a mate. He'd worried she may grow attached, but Donna had already proved him wrong.

He'd given Donna the push she needed to 'walk in the dust' and gratefully accepted her into his home. But it would never be the same…. Not like his Rose. She was one in 4 billion that was so human she out shone the sun.

But she could never return, she would always be lost in Hell. And there was not a damned thing he could do about it.


	3. Homecoming Invaded

At first, she could only remain home for minutes at a time, the longest stint having lasted just over ten days before she'd vanish to her prison cell of Zeppelins and Torchwood and Jake driving her up the wall or to Paris.

She had crossed over 12 times in total, the last having just started 2 minutes ago. Word was heard through a crack in the fabric of time from the Rift situated beneath Cardiff city. She had tagged any mention of unidentifiable news from a parallel universe to be sent straight to her.

The latest was a report of major attacks on Cardiff city, what had been called terrorist attacks. But with the Torchwood stamp on the file, Rose knew it couldn't be anything else but a intergalactic attack against the Welsh capital.

So, Rose grabbed the last yellow disk from her superior's desk and had thrown it over her neck and slapped the button before walking forwards.

She reappeared in the Torchwood Tower based in Canary Wharf, the place of her final fight with the Doctor, her last encounter with the Daleks. She tried not to recall her last days as a citizen of this Earth but failed miserably.

She allowed the memories to flood back for just a moment before continuing her mission – to find her Doctor.

And that's when she'd learned of Captain Jack, of Torchwood and his brother, of pterodactyls and Weevils and the further heartbreak of loss she experienced from Jack and his reaming team.

But the greatest sound in the universe never sang out; there was no TARDIS … No Doctor.

--

Her thirteenth time crossing over, Rose Tyler returned to the Powell Estate with her Mother and Mickey in toe. Life was so so different in Pete's World. Her mother had lost her second child by Peter Tyler. Craig, they'd called him. An operation was needed and Rose's dead brother was removed from her mother's body. He was laid to rest 3 days later.

Pete Tyler, leader of the alternate Torchwood, lost himself in his work, avoiding his wife at any cost. And Jackie couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to go home. Mickey, on the other hand, was torn. He loved how his life was in the new planet and had already started saving his wages to buy his own zeppelin in the sky. But he missed his own mates back home. He missed his flat and he missed the Powell Estate.

So the three returned to London, in the Year of our Lord 2008. Only to find a new alien invasion around them in every street.

Rose rushed towards their old apartment block and found it. His home. His ship. The blue box. The Tardis.

So, where was the Doctor?

--

Ok, so I may have more than 3 other chapters, I've suddenly been flooded with ideas! So just bare with me for the moment and thanks for reading.


	4. His True Companion

He'd been trapped in a deep and dark pit of anger and fear. Martha and Jack had been taken prisoner, confined to a metal cage. Donna had been killed right before their eyes, her bloody body thrown over a cliff into the unheeding sea. Only Sarah Jane survived. She knew the drill, locate the TARDIS and let it take her to safety.

Only, what safety could be found? The alien horde had massed on the entirely world, plunging it into never ending darkness; her sonic pen was of little use against their particle guns.

The TARDIS had brought her to a small estate in the south west of London and had refused to work without its Doctor. So Sarah Jane had hid it in plain view, down an alley that separated two apartment blocks.

And all along, those she had escaped where watching. A number of the front guard had gathered on the buildings rooftop, keeping watch over who ever may disturb the flying blue box. Sarah Jane was recaptured, and hidden from the world with the Doctor's other companions.

The Doctor couldn't comprehend how he'd become a prisoner to him once more. He thought he had learned from his mistakes in previous years, but he obviously hadn't.

His body, beaten black and blue, was cuffed at the wrists and ankles. He was lying on a cold, damp concrete floor. His thoughts were racing as he tried to figure a way out from this ordeal.

If it was only himself he had to worry about, he'd let himself remain captured till a moment to free himself arose. But his companions were trapped… his friends. He needed to get them all out of their prison.

--

It seemed like weeks had passed, with every slow moment dragging on in an infinite space. His skin felt loose, and his hearts beat at a slower pace. He was caught in a spiral of delusions and nightmares.

A constant factor was his dear Rose. The dreams held a constant echo of the Pyroviles prophecy – "She is returning."

And now, something that Donna had mentioned some time ago now made sense. She had mentioned a beautiful blonde girl at the scene of the crime. He had listened to her while his mind was set on flying to Ancient Rome… or Pompeii, as it had turned out.

Donna had mentioned her, saying that she seemed lost in her deep thoughts. But her comments were only short as she soon moved on to pestering him about the places they would go and what kind of extra-terrestrials she would meet.

And he had forgotten about her warning. The beautiful blonde girl, lost in a story scene of thoughts. That was a fitting description of his Rose.

She'd found a way through hell, even though he could not. She'd broken through and was searching for him, in the same way that Donna had – following any leads of crime and aliens and danger and death, the Doctor's one true companion.

He'd never believed the truth that stared at him whenever his companion died. He always blamed it on the evil he was facing, be it Autons or Daleks, Cybermen or the Master. He always laid blame on them. Never himself.

But now, in his cell of water and damp and cold and stone, he believed every word that was whispered, every truth that Mickey the Idiot roared at Rose, trying to make her leave him.

And then Rose was trapped. No way home. Martha's family was torn apart by the consequences of his actions. Astrid had been killed as she saved his life, falling into the burning engine of the Titanic. And now his mate Donna… his ordinary, slightly thick, human-as-they-come friend Donna. Beaten and shot and dropped from a cliff.

His true companion was at his side, unending and always.


	5. Random Discs

Rose awoke to the sound of marching. The mirror hanging on her bedroom wall shook with the vibrations. Quickly dressing, she dragged a brush through her hair as she raced to a viewing point.

Outside, short aliens in dark metal, or leather, were entering every block of apartments nearby. The screams echoed over the quiet night sky as humanity fell to its knees at his alien master.

A broadcast over all media wavelengths announced who their lords and masters were – The Sontarans.

Rose had recalled the Doctor mentioning them, but couldn't remember anything else. So she'd gathered up Mickey and her mother, any food supplies they could find and hidden in plain sight, inside the Tardis.

3 days had passed and it was only now that the Sontarans were making their move. Many of the screams that Rose heard sounded innocent or aged, and those sullenly exiting their homes were parents in tears and anguish.

Rose returned to the Blue Box. She'd had no luck in activating the Tardis, no luck in finding the Doctor and had quickly lost patience with Mickey's incessant nattering about returning to Pete's World.

Taking a seat at the console, Rose anxiously bit at her cuticle, focusing on something insignificant while the world around her was seemingly coming to an end.

Her Doctor was lost and she had no hope of finding him.

--

Searching through the vast amount of cupboards and rooms within the Tardis, Rose came across what appeared to be a random collection of DVD's – that or Rose had just discovered the Doctor's DVD collection.

Gathering dust in one of the many unused rooms, Rose also found a plastic see-through folder containing a conversation between the Doctor, some woman named Martha and another named Sally.

Reading through the material, Rose quickly learned of the Doctor being trapped in 1969, the Crying Angels and when not to blink.

As a p.s. to himself, the Doctor had written a message to himself saying to 'leave the key on all 17 discs'.

Rose, shrieking "Eureka!" jumped to her feet and sped to the console, finding her ex and Jackie standing there too.

"Wha's goin' on?" Jackie yawned, blinking away her sleep.

"I've found the Doctor. I know how to get to him." Rose cheered, jumping excitedly before hugging both of her companions.

Rose then, without explaining, picked up a disc and pushed it into the DVD player on console.

For a few seconds, the trio held their breath in anticipation. After a few seconds, assuming that nothing was working, Rose sighed as she returned to her seat at the console.

And then the engine began to sing.


	6. The Sound Of The Universe

His wrists were raw with the cuffs, as they constantly ripped away layer after layer of skin. The days bled together, with each minute seemingly dragging out to a full day. The Doctor was wishing. He knew Rose had found a way through. She was their only hope; his only hope.

He heard the cries of Martha and Jack as they were subjected to physical torture the likes of which only the war-mongers of the universe could devise.

The Sontarans had kept him separate from his faithful companions, but still close enough to hear them cry out in pain.

But the Doctor worried. Sarah Jane's cell was always quiet. Never was she crying, screaming. Not once had any sound escaped the metal bars.

He feared that she had succumbed to the same fate of his best mate. He had so much to be sorry for, and so much to be grateful for, and yet he could do nothing to aid his friends, locked as he was in a cage.

He had even begun to pray to the Gods or some significant being out there in the universe who could somehow aid them, feeling he had nothing else he could do.

All his faith rested in Rose Tyler – Defender of the Earth.

--

She'd searched for him for so long, bridging the gap between dimensions, looking; seeking her Doctor. But to no avail.

But finally only when the earth needed him most, had she finally found his home. And the engines were singing and cheering, flying to its master through the Vortex of time and space.

Her face was glowing and her heart was beating a mile a minute. She was coming home to the Doctor. After so long searching and waiting, she was returning to him.

Her efforts in trying to contact him were vast. She had even attempted to layer a message onto the monitor within the Tardis, but it obviously failed.

But, no matter. Here she was, flying through the Continuum, back to him. She'd done it. She'd won.

--

His nose had started to bleed once he'd been tossed, face down, back into his cell after the third session of electro-shock torture. Rolling onto his back, he coughed, trying to clear the blood, almost chocking at the amount of fluid rushing down his throat.

And that's when he heard it. The greatest sound in the universe. His Tardis, more specifically the engine, driving itself home to him.

The wind speed increased, sending dust and stray stretches of fabric spewing through his bars and around his cell.

The flashing white light began, the engine slowing down, the drum as it finally stopped.

He paused with bated breath, waiting to see the he one has longed for so long.

The door finally creaked open. Dragging his eyes up the pair of blue Nike and dark blue Levi's, the Doctor watched as the blonde hair was thrown over a shoulder, out of the young woman's eyes.

Her eyes were awash with tears that slowly raced down her cheeks.

She reached her hand out to stroke his cheek, feeling him press into the contact.

Her free hand came up from her side, grasping a sonic screwdriver.

"I think ya lost this," She smiled, helping him to his feet and sonicing his bonds opening.

For a minute he just looked at her, drank in her beauty that he missed so much. He pulled her into the tightest of hugs and sighed with happiness.

He released her, again wishing to look upon her face.

Her face was wet and shining in the moonlight. Her lips quivering from joy. Out of some unknown passion, the Doctor grasped her waist and pulled her flush against him.

Their breathing meeting, he placed a stray strand of hair behind her ear before cupping her cheek in it.

Her lips, so pink and inviting, her eyes filled with love and wonder, her face aglow with drive and passion.

Their lips met for the lightest of kisses at first, before the longing over took. Sparks flew behind the two's eyes as finally they were together as one.

Gasping as they separated, they both jumped as a throat was cleared behind them.

"There'll be time for that later," Jackie started, patting her hand against the Tardis door, "But we've got to save the universe first."

* * *

Next time: saving the world, one human at a time.


	7. Final Phase

She was here, alive and well, at his side as they ran down the corridor, Jackie and Mickey having remained in the safety of the Tardis. The two were running, fingers grasping, smiling at each other as they ran to the save the Doctor's companions.

The anguished screams of Captain Jack could be heard over a constant sound of sparks and sizzling.

Sonicing the door open, the Doctor and Rose found Jack chained to an old wooden chair, his bare feet in water as an electrical wire sparked every few seconds.

Jack gasped as he regained his life for the umpteenth time that day, shaking his head and lifting his feet from the water. It took him a moment to notice his viewing public.

Smirking at the duo, hands still joined, Jack quipped, "I always did put on a good show – shame I'm not getting anything outta this one!"

Shaken from their reverie, the Doctor and Rose launched into action, the Doctor freeing Jack from his bonds as Rose kept watch for any sign of the potato-shaped Sontarans.

"Just like the good old days!" Jack cheered, hugging Rose tightly.

"How come you don't seem so shocked?" The Doctor asked, curious to the circumstance he now found himself in.

"Rose crossed over the same day as… the same day that my brother tried to destroy the world."

Gazing at the concrete wall intently, Jack cleared his throat numerous times before the Doctor started to speak.

"We can talk about this later, first we have to save Martha and Sarah Jane."

"Martha was here with me up until a few weeks ago. The Sontarans came storming in, saying they needed her for some 'final phase'."

Even more curious, the Doctor retreated out of Jack's cell and started moving along the corridor.

Quickly following behind, Rose shouted ahead "What's the rush?"

"Planet-fall!" was the Doctor's reply.

--

Dr. Martha Jones – fiancé of Dr. Tom Milligan, friend of The Doctor, Captain Jack Harkness and Donna Noble, former employee of UNIT and current employee of Torchwood 3, situated out of Cardiff.

Dr. Martha Jones – prisoner, subject of experimentation, hungry, alone.

She'd not slept for days, yet her mind was still fresh with escape plans and plots to overthrow the short invaders. But her weak muscles, weak limbs kept her locked up and prevented her from even attempting an escape.

Her roommate was Sarah Jane Smith, a fellow companion of the Doctor. The woman was worn thin from starvation and lack of sleep and had been sliding in and out of consciousness for the last 5 hours.

The Sontarans had connected Martha to an IV drip and the drugs they were supplying were causing internal damage – Martha could feel her organs shift and change and vanish and expand.

This 'final phase' was going to change the face of humanity… forever.


	8. Blaidd Drwg

"I'm sorry about Donna, Doctor. I know how much she meant to you," Rose said. She, the Doctor and the Captain were running down a corridor that looked exactly like the last 50 they'd run down in search of Martha Jones.

"She was brilliant," He replied, smiling at the fantastic-ness of Ms. Noble. She was the best mate he'd ever had to travel with. Not like Rose, or Martha, Sarah Jane… or even Jack. Donna wasn't in love with him, didn't fancy him one bit. She only wanted to travel, see different worlds and creatures and beings.

"I just hope we aren't too late to save Martha and Sarah Jane."

--

"Sara-Sarah Jane?" Martha croaks, pushing herself to her knees. Her system was in a state of shock, her bodily functions having become so altered that she no longer felt human.

"Hmph…" the elder woman groaned. She rolled over and cried out in anguish, her bruised body and broken bones cracking from the pressure.

"Sarah Jane, how are you doing?" Martha asked, her voice so much deeper now from the Sontarans experiments.

"Luke?" Sarah asked, crying once more as she reached out in a hallucination for her son.

"He's safe, Sarah Jane, remember? We got him away with his friend Maria and her dad. He's safe."

Sarah Jane's sobs echoed through the cell, and Martha's repeated reassurance failed to make any difference.

--

"Doctor, over here!" Rose roared, trying and failing to open the metal door.

"Martha! Sarah Jane! Can you hear me?!" The Doctor shouted, taking out his sonic device and using it against the hinges and the lock. Captain Jack aids in his efforts, working the security lock on the wall beside the door.

"It's not working! Agh, they must've dead sealed it!"

"What are we gonna do?" Rose asked, gaping at the Doctor as he smashed and thumped and kicked the door.

"Doctor!" Jack shouted, trying to pull the man away.

"No, I have to get the out, I have to save them! It's my fault they're in this mess, I brought them along for a trip in the Tardis. It's my fault that they tried to help me stop the Sontarans. It's all my fault."

The Doctor kicked the door once more before crumpling to his knees and breaking down. Rose fell to her knees at his side and took him to her chest as he sobbed for the lives he feared he damaged.

Jack retries to open the door and groans in frustration.

"This isn't like any other Sontaran technology I've seen before!"

The Doctor stopped thrashing. He breathes deep breaths to calm himself and watches Jack's attempts. He then notices the style of the key pad

"He's right. It's not just Sontaran equipment!" He jumps to his feet and examines the pad with his sonic screwdriver.

"Oh no."

"Doctor… Doctor, the wall. Doctor! The symbol on the wall – I've seen it before!" Rose realised, her eyes wide and shocked.

"What do you mean, Rose? What is it?" The Doctor asked, following her line of sight.

"Bad Wolf."


	9. Partners in War

Rose Tyler's breath hitched. She clasped her hand to her mouth and fought back a chest shattering sob. She fell to the concrete floor. Her hands tangled in her hair as she tried to calm herself.

Captain Jack Harkness shook his violently as his last dealings with the Daleks flashed in his mind. The harsh cry of "EX-TER-MIN-ATE!" on the Game Station in the year 200100 caused his hands to shake and rattle the control of the cell door.

The Doctor was in torment, frozen to stone as if by Pyrovile power. His eyes locked on the symbol on the wall. He never gets away from them. The Daleks are a constant thorn in his side, ones that leave gaping wounds that end life in the universe, cause wars of fire and destruction to warp a world to their liking.

And they were here. On planet Earth, working with the Sontarans. A fact that he had thought never possible.

"Doctor. We need to get to Martha, and Sarah Jane. Doctor! Have a breakdown later, we need to save 'em!"

"But Doctor, how can it be the Daleks? Didn't they all get sucked into the void? And why would they work with the Sontarans. When they met the Cybermen in the Battle of Canary Wharf, they refused to even contemplate working together. Why now? What can the Sontarans offer that the Cybermen didn't?" Rose asked, standing once more, her bottom lip quivering as she fought to end her tears from coming.

"I don't know, Rose. I just… I don't know."

--

"Martha Jones! You will face your lords and masters! Stand!" The voice screeched as the other metallic door rolled back into the wall. A black Dalek rolled into the room, its eyestalk zooming from the elder to the younger, as a Sontaran general entered the room. He stood just above the head of the Dalek, but only by an inch or so, his plasma gun trained on Martha.

"Stand," The Sontaran ordered, charging the gun if she disobeyed.

"Alright, keep your helmet on!" She shouted, groaning as pain shot through her left leg. Using the wall to keep her upright, Martha shook her hair from her eyes and faced her captors.

"Stand for ex-amin-ation, remain still!" The Dalek then ordered, swivelling out of the way as a second Sontaran entered, carrying a small black box that whizzed and sang as it worked.

Scanning her body, Martha held her breath in expectation, wondering what these results would find.

"All internal changes complete. The test is workable result, we can commence world wide evolution."

"What for, why? What do a Dalek force and a Sontaran fleet need with changed human DNA? Tell me!" Martha shouted, groaning as her leg shook with painful twinge.

"We do not follow the orders of a measly ape. We are superior beings, above such thoughts!" The Dalek replied, following the second Sontaran as it left.

Once alone with the humans, the Sontaran soldier stood for a moment, a look of disgust plastered to his face.

"We are cleansing the earth of the human pestilence, all for the greater good, as our leader instructs."

The Sontaran turned right and finally left, ignoring the broken humans shouts for attention. He'd overstepped the mark in what he'd said. Yet he couldn't take the confidence of the pathetic human any more.

They were changing the universe, one planet at a time. What damage could one lone human cause?


	10. Of Daleks and Time Lords

Heading into heavy spoiler territory, with plot from the Stolen Earth making an appearance here. You have been warned.

* * *

The trio return to the Tardis, the Doctor explaining to Rose about his meeting with the Daleks in 1930's Manhatten and how Dalek Caan is the last surviving Dalek of the Time War, just as the Doctor is of the Time Lords. The Doctor ignoreed Jacks pointed stare as he unlocked the door and the three rushed inside.

Seeing Captain Jack for the first time, Jackie smiled coyly at him and whispered to Mickey, "Who's he?"

Mickey grunted and walked to the Doctor. He offered his hand but the Doctor used it to pull Mickey into a hug, slapping his back twice before letting go.

"Didn't get to say hello properly, did we Ricky?" he explained, a mad grin on his face.

Jack coughed and the Doctors face returned to serious.

"We need to figure what the Daleks and the Sontarans are planning. Jack, you said they took Martha for some experiment?"

"Yeah, something that would change the face of humanity, and I'm quoting one of the Sontarans on this. Why?"

"Because, if the Daleks are here, aiding the Sontarans, maybe the "changing the face of humanity" thing might mean creating a new race of Daleks, Daleks evolved from human flesh and DNA."

"Is that possible?" Mickey asked, crossing his arms and staring at the Doctor.

"They did it before," Jack replied, answering before the Doctor could, "In the year 200100, the Daleks had created a new race… by using humans as their lab rats."

"And how did you stop 'em?" Mickey asked, staring at Rose, who has suddenly become still.

"…I did," she said, her eyes a-wash with tears, "I looked into the heart of the Tardis and used it to destroy the Dalek fleet… but… it," she stopped speaking, her voice crackling, heavy with tears.

"It was burning up her mind, so I took it out of her and into myself and returned it to the Tardis, but it killed me… which is how I became to look like this. I regenerated," The Doctor said, moving to the console and flipping switches. He set a scan for Dalek technology.

"But, Doctor, I don't understand. Why are the Sontarans working with the Daleks? What is in it for them?" Jack questioned, joining the Doctor at the console.

"The last time I faced the Sontarans, with Donna and Martha, they were trying to make the planet a cloning planet. If they still are planning to do that, the Daleks could aid in speeding up the process. But first, they get all of the human race to change into a new Dalek fleet. Both sides gain an advantage from the destruction of the Earth."

The Doctor faced Jack and, through clenched teeth, spoke in a whisper, "But I don't understand how Dalek Caan could do all of this by himself… He was the last surviving Dalek… he couldn't possibly do all this."

"So he found help from someone." Jack said, as if it was the most simple thing to say.

"Yes, but from whom?"

--

Dalek Caan laughed, his voice screeching as he giggled. His mind flew through great visions of water and fire, of spiders and beetles, of Time Lords and Daleks. He saw Skaro and Gallifrey burning, the Emperor failing; falling.

His mind was like a string, thinning and fraying and falling to pieces. He was open, feeling the bright light above him, which he doesn't remember being switched on, warming his skin. He reached a tentacle to it, feeling it as if like fire.

He flew and fell, the temporal shift sending him through time and space to what he'd ran away from in the first place.

He had broken through where so many others had failed and had found his creator, the last surviving Kaled.

And together, they had set about to change the universe, one planet at a time.


	11. Coversations of the Past

The second-to-last chapter. Enjoy.

* * *

Within the TARDIS, the Doctor had allowed the Captain to contact his team, the team he had recreated in the Doctor's honour after the fall of Torchwood 1.

Sitting on the chair, the Doctor ran his hands through his hair, it sticking wildly and on edge as he contemplated a way to free his companions. His mind was stuck, the image of his mate Donna Noble as her limp body fell over the edge of the cliff in the rampaging sea.

Jackie, Mickey and Rose were whispering, each of them glancing at the Doctor as he figured out a resolution. After being urged on by her mother and her ex, Rose moved to the Doctor, sitting by him on the chair.

"Doctor… I may have a way of breaking through the dead lock seal," Rose said, freeing his hand from his hair and taking it in her own.

"I… what is it?"

Nodding to Mickey, who headed off to the door that led to the other rooms, Rose stood and pulled him to his feet, before leading him after Mickey's path.

Entering the room that once was, and is still a museum to her, Rose's room, they found Mickey cracking open a crate that held six guns.

"In our Torchwood, I had them develop these… after the Battle of Canary Wharf… even though there are no Daleks in that universe. Do you think they might help?"

"We just might get through," the Doctor cheered, grabbing two of them as the Mickey and Rose each grabbed one.

Returning to the console room, the Doctor tossed Jack the extra weapon.

"C'mon Jack, we're getting Martha out!" she cheered, running for the door and exiting out, Jack, Rose, Jackie and Mickey following quickly behind.

They returned to the doorway with Dalek technology. The four with weapons aimed at the metal door, and fired. The titanium screeched and buckled as the door flew backwards, crashing into a solid wall and rocking metal shavings to the ground.

"Ha, it worked!" Jack cheered, sliding the weapon over his shoulder. The Doctor handed him his weapon and withdrew his sonic screwdriver, using it on the second door, which didn't refuse to open. The door rolled open and the Doctor and his companions stormed in.

Martha gasped as her bonds became loose and she was able to stand once more. Ripping the IV tubes from her arms and head, Martha sighed roared victoriously as she aided Sarah Jane from her front to a more comfortable position, as her own chains fell from her arms.

Swirling to the door, Martha eyes widened in relief as the Doctor ran into her arms and hugged her tight as she jubilantly cheered.

"Doctor!"

Once relieved that she was still alive, the Doctor realised her to check Sarah Jane, only for Captain Jack to quickly take his spot.

"Oh no, Sarah Jane, what have they done to you?" he whispered, using his screwdriver to scan her life signs.

Martha was being introduced to the family Tyler, and was grateful to finally be meeting the blessed Rose Tyler.

"He finally found you," she said, smiling over her shoulder at her Doctor.

"I found him," Rose smiled, watching the Doctor for a moment before joining him. "How is she?" she asked, taking Sarah Jane's hand.

"She's just dehydrated and exhausted. Some bed rest and she'll be fine. Jack, Mickey, could you come and carry her back to the Tardis please?" The Doctor asked, getting to his feet and moving to Martha.

"Do you mind if I…?" He asked, holding out his screwdriver to explain what he was saying.

"I wanna know what has happened to me… what their chemicals have done to me… because, Doctor, I feel… different."

As Jack and Mickey and Jacqui filled out of the room, leaving Rose and the Doctor with Martha, the Doctor began his examination of Martha. The results he was finding were not good.

"I'm so sorry, Martha, but this… whatever the Daleks have done to you, it's changed your biological matter. They've physically changed what it means to be human, with you as their lab rat."

"But what have they changed me into?" She asked, aghast, as she gripped her stomach.

"Dalek. Or at least, part Dalek."

"But, Doctor, I've seen Daleks here, it's not just Dalek Caan anymore. So why do they need to change humanity?"

"What do you mean, other Daleks?" The Doctor questioned, his mouth open.

"There was one, in a Dalek case from the bottom, but from the waist up, he looked human, except for his missing eyes and arm. He… he spoke as if he was in control of the Daleks."

"No… It can't be! It… it just can't be!" The Doctor said, running his hand across his face, his eyes in some far off daze. He groaned in frustration before kicking at the ground.

"Of course he could do it; he was the greatest genius on Skaro. From everything that I've seen here, it could be him. It has to be. But he died, I saw it happen!" The Doctor rambled, throwing himself into action as he ran to the Tardis.

Once inside, he began flipping switches and sitting Martha on the chair, he took a blood sample and ran it through a system check within the console.

"What does it say, Doctor?" Martha asked, her face etched with worry.

"I was wrong. It isn't making you part Dalek, it's making you part Kaled."

"Kaled? Wha's that?"

"It's what Daleks were before the last Kaled experimented and mutated them into Dalek, voiding them all of emotion, except the emotion to hate. He encased them a Dalekenium shield."

"So he's, wha'? Turning Martha here into a Kaled so he can change her into a Dalek?" Rose asked, trying to grasp an understanding.

Jumping from a realisation, he flipped another switch and the Tardis boomed to life, "And that's why he's working with the Sontarans! It's a win-win situation for both of them! And that's how we can take 'em down!"

"I think a meeting is in order first, Doctor. We've got so much to catch up on. How did it feel, destroying your entire race?" The voice crackled, the monitor in the Tardis coming to life. Fiddling with a knob, the picture cleared and a withered face appeared on screen, his metallic week clacking as he thrummed out a beat on the counter before him.

Martha stiffened in fear, throwing furtive glances at the Doctor's other companions as she joined the Doctor's side.

"That's him, Doctor!" she breathed in fear.

"You're voice has changed, Doctor, yet the arrogance is still present. Even in the years that have passed between our last meeting, we've changed in our actions, yet we still want the same things. We are each other's balances, Doctor. And now you have my test subject. Miss Jones has been quiet agreeable."

"You had her under lock and key, of course she will cooperate. And, with everything we've gone through; everything we've seen, everything we've done, I have just one thing to say to you: Watch. Out." The Doctor threw a switch, which rocked the Tardis out of its position, ceasing the visual link.

With a thundering boom, the Tardis landed at its final point.

"Here we go," The Doctor said, Jack laughing at his determination.

"Saving the world!" Rose, Martha and Jack said at the same time, laughing at their unison.


	12. Journey's End

The actual title for the season finale was too good not to use here too. Enjoy.

* * *

The Tardis door slammed open as the Doctor and his companions rushed outwards. Before them, a swarm of Sontarans and Daleks were rushing towards them, weapons raised as humans and the Time Lord faced them.

"YOU WILL EX-PLAIN THIS!" The Dalek roared, swirling in it's spot, it's eyestalk glowing at the Doctor.

"I'm here to understand – where is he? I want to speak with him," The Doctor asked, his voice calm as the Sontarans circled them and the Tardis.

"'He' is right in front of you!" The voice came through the crowd, quiet and confident as he trundled forward.

"Doctor, at least we meet face to face, although you're face has changed."

"Why did you come here, why Earth? With all the other constellations and universes and worlds out there, why here?"

"Dalek Caan. He foresaw this. All that's happened, all that will happen, Is all down to him. He broke through the Time Lock."

"But that's impossible!"

"And yet he did it."

Rose, Jack and Mickey cocked their guns, the energy charging through them. Martha and Jackie aided Sarah Jane in keeping her legs from crumbling beneath as she stared daggers at the last Kaled.

Davros rolled forward, his lone hand was tapping out a rhythm that sent shivers through the travellers. His eyes reduced to slits as he eyed up Sarah Jane, the eldest of the Doctor's companions that had found him once more.

"Sarah… Jane… Smith," she growled, her voice a quiet intensity that shocked Jackie and Martha. "Remember me?"

"You were there, in Skaro, at my creation."

Sarah Jane's hand grabbed at her chest, a metallic gold chain rattling in her fingers. Pulling it from beneath her shirt, she grew strength from somewhere deep and stood of her own accord, taking a step forward.

"Is that what I think it is?" Captain Jack asked, as the Doctor gritted his teeth at her.

"A soothsayer gave it to me, long ago. He… he said it was for the end of days. It's a warp star."

The Dalek and Sontaran forces backed away ad it was given a name. Davros was silent for a moment before a laugh of utmost contempt rattled from his chest.

"The Doctor, never one for holding a weapon. His companions, are a different force of nature. The Children of Time, Dalek Caan named them, he said this would happen. It has all been foretold as it happened. The children crossing dimensions and leading warriors in the Doctor's name, running to their Doctor's side."

"Everyone, back to the Tardis," the Doctor instructed, speaking through clenched teeth.

"Running away, Doctor? Leaving your troubles behind? Just like the Time War. Tell me, Doctor, how did it feel, burning Gallifrey?" Davros taunted, watching the retreating forms of the Doctor's army as they crowded back into the Tardis.

--

The engine boomed as it kicked alive, sending the Tardis into the vortex. The Doctor set the course, the Tardis zooming through time/space.

The Doctor joined Sarah Jane on the captain's chair and held his hand out in expectation. Sarah Jane passed over the chain, as the Doctor caught it in between his nimble fingers. He remained quiet for the longest time, the companions worried as to what the Doctor's reaction would be.

"Why didn't you tell me you had this?" he finally asked, his eyes drawn to the star.

"It… It was a bargaining chip against him incase you were never able to free us – I have a son Doctor, he's fourteen, and I needed to know that I would survive to watch him grow up – so I kept it hidden."

The engine boomed once more and the companions rocked on their feet.

"Doctor, what are we going to do? How can we defeat the Daleks and the Sontarans?"

The Doctor threw on his coat and placed the warp star in his pocket. Grabbing his weapon, the Doctor smiled at his followers and instructed Jack, Mickey and Rose to grab the spare guns and follow him.

"What do we need these for?" Mickey asked, as the door to the Tardis closed behind them.

"In case we meet any Daleks and Sontarans."

"And your plan is..?" Rose asked, joining the Doctor's side as he raced down a corridor.

"We use the warp star to destroy the Dalek control room, which ignites the Sontaran air system, blasting them all into oblivion!"

"All from little jewel?" Rose asked, surprised by the power of the chain.

"A lot of power in that little star," Jack said, kicking a door open and checking the room for enemies, "It's said that a warp star killed off the dinosaurs… and caused the explosion of Krakatau."

"It killed the DINOSAURS?" Mickey asked, his voice a quiet form of shock.

--

Mickey and Jack launched into action, kicking the doors open as Rose and the Doctor rushed in, destroying Dalek forces before their cries of extermination could be heard.

All four of them firing their weapons, blasting the Dalekenium into pieces, killing the mutated flesh inside.

"Okay, this should take just a few minutes, and then," The Doctor said, joining the Captain at the counter. He threw his gun on the floor and withdrew his sonic screwdriver. Sonicing Jack's wriststrap, he returned his screwdriver to his pocket and carefully retrieved the star.

Wrapping the chain around a lever, the Doctor used his screwdriver to set the lever still and connected it to Jack's wriststrap. Connection set and the warp star ready, the Doctor grabbed his gun from the ground and ordered his gang… um, team… oh, group, he ordered them back to the Tardis.

--

Once inside, the Doctor set the Tardis in motion and the Tardis zoomed out of the Dalek ship and into deep space. He shouted, "Now!", to Jack, who instigated the plan. A moment of silence surrounded them before the Tardis began to rock as the shockwaves of the explosion waved out into the space.

--

The Tardis returned to Earth, to London, within Sarah Jane's home. The Doctor aided her exit, returning her to the arms of her son. She cried out of pure joy and happiness that she forgot all about her exhaustion and starvation for a moment. The Doctor promised to call by, to check in on, and was finally glad to meet the famour Luke Smith.

"Look after your mum for me, eh?" He asked, ruffling the kids hair before shaking his hand in a manly fashion so as to not embarrass the boy in front of his mother.

"Goodbye, Sarah Jane, and thank you."

The Doctor and Sarah Jane hugged one final time before the Doctor returned to the safety of his ship.

--

The next stop for the Tardis was the home on one Dr. Tom Millegan. Martha wished everyone farewell, accepting the Captains offer of position as Torchwood's medical officer and alien biologist. Stepping out onto the street, the Doctor and Martha with linked arms, the Doctor passed Martha her medication.

"Take one every day for the next week and you should be all back to normal. I'll call by then, just to check up on you."

They arrived at the door and the Doctor waited as Martha retrieved her key.

"Does he know..?" The Doctor started, before ceasing.

"About the year that never was? About you? About everything?"

The Doctor nodded.

"Yes. I couldn't hold back with him, Doctor. I need him, just as much as he needs me. And he loves me. We work, so I can't not be without him."

She hugged the Doctor goodbye and watched as he retreated to his spaceship. He turned as he opened the door, and Martha saluted him before unlocking the door and entering.

"Martha?!" Tom's worried voice called out, arousing relief as she found herself in his protective grasp.

--

Another return to Cardiff with reminders of Margaret the Slitheen and the Gelth and the Doctor was once more making Jack's wriststrap ineffective, found the dear Captain leaving the Tardis once more. He hugged the fellow travellers goodbye, nodded his head towards Rose and saluted the Doctor, just as Martha had.

Before the door had closed behind him, Mickey was wishing Jackie and Rose goodbye and goodluck and bumping fists with the Doctor before following after Jack out onto Roald Dahl Plass, throwing his arm around his shoulder.

"So, cheesecake, any need for a computer technician in your fine Torchwood Hub?"

--

And here they stood, in the Powell Estate, the former home of the family Tyler. Jackie had called up her friend Tina the cleaner and wondered if she had a place fore her to stay before she got her feet back on the ground.

Extracting a promise from first Rose and then the Doctor that they would call daily and visit, in the flesh, weekly, to which she got a promise before hugging her daughter and then the Doctor tightly.

Having watched her mother enter her friends flat, Rose returned to the Tardis and sighed heavily.

"Do… do you wanna go home?" The Doctor asked, his focus on the monitor before him.

"I AM home… that place… it-it was my prison. Anyway, the void is closed again, and I can't contact the other Torchwood anymore. I'm done with begin lost as it goes. I wanna stay here, with you."

"Are you sure?"

Rose, focused on the task at hand, forced the Doctor to face. Grasping the lapels of his jacket, Rose waited for a second before crashing her lips to his.

She pulled back mere minutes later, panting, her eyes darkened with lust.

"That enough of an answer for ya?" She replied cheekily, releasing her grip on his clothing.

Reluctantly falling from her hold, the Doctor began to set new coordinates for his last destination of the day.

"Were to next?" Rose asked, leaning against the console.

Sadly, the Doctor gulped his tears away and smiled, his eyes shining with remorse as he tearfully smiled at Rose.

"Chiswick."


End file.
